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Landra Johnson Offers Natural Hair Care Line For Children Of Color

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2012

Landra Johnson of Charlotte, N.C., lives an all-natural lifestyle. Not only is she a vegetarian but she also only uses products free of preservatives, artificial ingredients and toxins. When her first child, Davis, was born in 2006, Johnson was determined to keep him away from these as well. But, it wasn’t an easy task. Johnson set out on a quest to find products that would naturally soothe Davis’ skin and care for his hair’s curly kinks and coils.  She scoured the aisles of local hair care stores but all she found were products filled with petroleum, mineral oil and artificial concoctions.
“I wanted products that were genuinely chemical free and effective,” said Johnson, 38, a former broadcast journalist who now has two children. “The market at that time was really dominated by general products with nothing for the ethnic market.”  “When we couldn’t find it, we decided to make it,” said Johnson, adding that she and her sister, Kristi Booker, launched in 2009 a hair and skin care line for children of color called Cara B Naturally. With little prior knowledge of the beauty industry, Johnson spent three years researching and collaborating with chemists who work with natural ingredients. Her line of all natural shampoo, soap, leave-in conditioner and body lotion is now certified by the Natural Products Association, Johnson said, noting CVS and Target offer her products.

Whitney Houston’s Memorabilia Set To Be Displayed At The Grammy Museum

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2012

Nearly six months after Whitney Houston’s untimely death, fans will have the opportunity to view the legendary singer’s vast collection of memorabilia at a special exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.  The exhibit dubbed “Whitney! Celebrating the Musical Legacy of Whitney Houston,” will display items such as Houston’s bible, photographs and her famous white gown worn during the 1994 Grammy Awards will be among the many things.

Whitney Houston's Memorabilia Set To Be Displayed At The Grammy Museum

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2012

Nearly six months after Whitney Houston’s untimely death, fans will have the opportunity to view the legendary singer’s vast collection of memorabilia at a special exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.  The exhibit dubbed “Whitney! Celebrating the Musical Legacy of Whitney Houston,” will display items such as Houston’s bible, photographs and her famous white gown worn during the 1994 Grammy Awards will be among the many things.

R.I.P. Sherman Hemsley: “The Jeffersons” Star Dies at 74

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2012

Hemsley was discovered by producer Norman Lear on stage in New York. He first played George Jefferson on ‘All in the Family.’ ‘The Jeffersons’ ran for 11 seasons. Sherman Hemsley, who was rooted in the minds of millions of television viewers as Archie Bunker’s bombastic black neighbor, George Jefferson, in“All in the Family” and later as the star of his own long-running sitcom, “The Jeffersons,” has died. He was 74.

R.I.P. Sherman Hemsley: "The Jeffersons" Star Dies at 74

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2012

Hemsley was discovered by producer Norman Lear on stage in New York. He first played George Jefferson on ‘All in the Family.’ ‘The Jeffersons’ ran for 11 seasons. Sherman Hemsley, who was rooted in the minds of millions of television viewers as Archie Bunker’s bombastic black neighbor, George Jefferson, in“All in the Family” and later as the star of his own long-running sitcom, “The Jeffersons,” has died. He was 74.

GBN Quote Of The Day

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2012

 
“If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up.  Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
–Michael Jordan, Five-Time NBA MVP

Review of “The Longest Fight: In the Ring with Joe Gans, Boxing’s First African American Champion” by William Gildea

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2012

THE LONGEST FIGHT

In the Ring With Joe Gans, Boxing’s
First African American Champion
By William Gildea
Farrar Straus Giroux. 245 pp. $26

The boxer Joe Gans is largely forgotten today. Mild-mannered, he lacked the boisterous charisma of Jack Johnson or Muhammad Ali. But from 1902 to 1908, he was the world lightweight king, America’s first black boxing champion.  In 1906, in the 100-degree fug of the southern Nevada desert, he took on Oscar “Battling” Nelson in a legendary 42-round fight, two hours and 48 minutes, the longest bout of the 20th century. The match and Gans’s story are the subject of “The Longest Fight,” a gem of a book by former Washington Post sports columnist William Gildea.

GBN Quote Of The Day

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2012

“It’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.”
— Jackie Joyner-Kersee, World-Class heptathlete, long-jumper and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist

Rapper Doug E. Fresh Uses Hip-Hop To Teach Healthy Habits To Black and Latino Youth With Hip Hop Public Health

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2012

Doug E. Fresh and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during the 2011 Soul Train Awards at The Fox Theatre on November 17, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

When hip-hop icon Doug E Fresh first graced the mic, he simply wanted to entertain the masses by doing what he loved. After building his career and subsequent fame, he decided that it was best to use his success to educate and empower others. As a father of five, and vegetarian for nearly 25 years, the 45-year-old believes that good health is essential for a fulfilling life.
“Health has always been an important thing to me. I exercise and try to take care of myself, and drink a lot of water! And I push that to my kids so that they can carry on that same energy,” said Doug E.
So when he partnered with Dr. Olajide Williams, a neurologist from New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, to join in the fight against childhood obesity, he merged two very important components of his life: hip-hop and health. The partnership produced Hip Hop Public Health, a program that uses hip hop as a way to educate African-American and Latino children about obesity and the resulting chronic and acute diseases. HHPH engages and informs students through music, videos, comic books and live shows that tour schools. As the program’s Vice President of Entertainment, Doug E. stated that he “felt like  it was necessary to take what people love, which is hip-hop, and use it as tool to get kids motivated.”
Read the rest of this story on Ebony.com.
via Doug E. Fresh uses hip-hop to teach healthy habits to black and Latino youth with Hip Hop Public Health | theGrio.

Making A Home For John Coltrane’s Legacy : NPR

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2012

In 1964, John Coltrane moved from Queens, N.Y., to a brick ranch house on a 31/2 acre wooded lot in the quiet suburb of Dix Hills. This bucolic setting — 40 miles east of the city — is perhaps the last place you’d expect to find a musician creating the virtuosic jazz that Coltrane is famous for.   “I believe the solitude and the beauty of Long Island gave him something he had not had or experienced before,” he says. “Clearly it affected the way he conceived.”

But Ravi Coltrane, the son of John and Alice Coltrane, who was herself a noted jazz pianist and harpist, says the woods were part of his father’s creative process.

John Coltrane: stylistic change we can believe in.

take five: a jazz sampler

The Cocktail Party Guide To John Coltrane

Ravi Coltrane was born in 1965 and lived in the Dix Hills house until he was six.

“This is my sister’s room over here. Michelle — this is her bedroom,” he says. “This was the boys’ room back here; this is the room I shared with my two brothers, John Jr. and Oran.”‘

But, Ravi Coltrane says, not all is as it was: The Coltrane Home in Dix Hills has fallen into disrepair in the 45 years after his father’s death.

Preserving The Property

Many, including Ravi Coltrane, are trying to preserve the historic property. The driving force behind the effort is Steve Fulgoni, a music store owner, amateur saxophonist and a huge Coltrane fan. He first visited the house in 2004.

“I was looking around, and I looked in the corner, which I think was in this room, and all there was was one newspaper,” Fulgoni says. “I picked up the newspaper, and I looked at the date, and the date of the newspaper was July 17, which was the anniversary of his death. And I said to myself, ‘I need to do something.'”

That same year, he founded The Friends of the Coltrane Home. Fulgoni petitioned the town of Huntington, N.Y., to declare the site a historic landmark, and two years later, to purchase the property and designate it a public park.

To read the rest of this article or listen to the story, click here: Making A Home For John Coltrane’s Legacy : NPR.